


A Last Meeting

by Wei (wei_jiangling)



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-31
Updated: 2011-12-31
Packaged: 2017-10-28 13:39:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/308422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wei_jiangling/pseuds/Wei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A queen and a pirate were never meant to be together.  In time, they both knew, life would get in the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Last Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hakuen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hakuen/gifts).



> This was done in exchange for a donation to help_japan, which probably gives a clue to exactly how long this was in coming. I apologize for the lateness.

Ashe awoke to the sensation of being watched. Even through the lingering haze of sleep, the presence of another human being in her room was unmistakable. It was an awareness she’d gained in her time away from the safety of the palace--and sure enough, as she opened her eyes, they immediately landed on a shadowed figure sitting in a chair beside her bed. One she immediately recognized as a certain sky pirate.

Familiar as the intruder was, she knew better than to scream. However, she couldn’t contain a small surprised squeak as she sat up abruptly and gathered the sheets to cover herself. The uninvited guest in her bedroom found himself on the receiving end of a rather intense glare. “Now you’ve taken to sneaking into a Queen’s quarters to watch her sleep?” It wasn’t the first time he had unexpectedly and inexplicably found his way in, but it was indeed the first time he had been the first thing she noticed upon waking. She wondered exactly how long he had been sitting there, and thought it best not to ask.

At first, the only reply she got was a look of mild amusement. “Better than waking her, I would think.” Balthier gave her a pointed look, as if daring her to challenge what he’d just said. Then his lips curled up into a slight smirk as he added. “You needn’t be so fussy about the sheets. As you may remember, I have seen you far more undressed than you are at the moment.”

The glare grew only more intense, though now it was tempered by a faint blush on her cheeks. The statement was true enough, but she drew the sheets tighter around herself if only to spite him. “Why are you here?” It was the first she had heard from him in quite some time. She had honestly begun to wonder whether he had finally managed to get himself killed, though his presence here suggested he may have merely found himself locked in a dungeon, or even simply busy finding new and exciting things to steal. She would have to admit she was relieved to discover it hadn’t been the former, though she might have appreciated it more had she been notified in some other form. Though even then, she couldn’t deny that it was good to see him again.

But why now, she wondered? Why after all this time, after he seemed to have finally taken her mostly-hollow protests about how a Queen shouldn’t be so involved with a sky pirate to heart? More than once she had ended these encounters saying this time would be their last, only to find him waiting for her a week or two later when she retired to her room in the evening, perfectly willing to prove her wrong. This time, it had been months. Day after day, and week after week, she expected to find him sitting in one of her chairs or lounging on her bed, possibly biding his time by flipping through some book taken likely at random from her shelf. But he had never come again. It seemed that he had taken the hint to move on, and she had as well. So the skeptical look that came with the question she had asked should have come as no surprise at all. Then again, perhaps exactly how much she had moved on came as no surprise, either.

“I understand you’ve found yourself a new husband-to-be,” he explained, raising an eyebrow slightly. “I came to say congratulations.” Ashe stared back at him, wide-eyed. What he had said was true--before long, she was to be married, and to someone far more fitting of her position than a sky pirate--but she had not a clue how he had found out. The official announcement wasn’t to be made until later that day. She didn’t need to ask; he read the question on her face. “Word travels quickly when one has an ear for it.” As enigmatic as ever, she thought. But she assumed she would get no clearer answer.

For a long moment, she continued to stare back at him. Then her gaze shifted off to the side. “That’s why?” she asked. “Simply to say congratulations?” She shook her head. “I know you better.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. For a moment it seemed as if perhaps that was all he had to say, but then he spoke again. Maybe he’d decided to humor her. “A question, then. You’re happy, with this gent of yours?” The question took her by surprise, but she simply looked at him, level.

“I am.” Her words were more sure than her heart, another talent cultivated in adversity. Though her answer was honest. What reason did she have to be unsure? A stable--and yes, happy--life awaited her now. And what alternative might she have? Some silly fling between a princess and a pirate? Clandestine meetings at unpredictable times? That was never meant to last. In fact, Balthier himself had done his part to ensure that it hadn’t. She searched his face for some reaction--approval or displeasure--but found nothing.

“Good,” was all he said, and never had the word sounded so utterly neutral. A pause, as perhaps he searched her face the same way she had his, and with the same result. “Ah, but one last parting gesture,” he declared, unfazed. He took her hand from where it still held onto the sheet, and brought it briefly to his lips. He paused then, looking at her hand, a few inches away from his face.

“A new ring,” he observed. He examined it briefly, then once again met Ashe’s eyes. “Even nicer than the last. I must say I’m jealous.”

In reply, she pulled her hand away from him, the look in her eyes both wary and determined. “You shan’t be taking that one from me, I assure you.” She had made her choice, and nothing would take it from her. There would be no pirate to steal her heart, and--if she had any say in the matter as a monarch--no wars to take her life away from her, this time.

“I have no plan to,” he replied simply. As he said it, she noticed an amused glint in his eyes, one she didn’t dare ask about. She assumed she wouldn’t get an answer, even if she did. He waved a hand, dismissively. “And now I must be going.” He stood from his chair, and punctuated his next comment with a slight smirk. “I’d hate to think of the scandal should someone find me in your bedchambers.”

“As would I,” she replied. No further words were exchanged as he slipped through a passage in the wall into the supposedly secret tunnel that led its way out of her chambers.

For a long moment, she simply stared at that spot on the wall, wondering at that exchange; bewildered that he had bothered coming just to say congratulations, and to ask a simple question--though what weight if any that question may have carried, she would never know.

Eventually she got out of bed and set to the task of getting herself dressed for the day. Only in the midst of that task did she notice a small box open on her dresser, empty save for a small piece of paper. Not simply a question after all, then. The ring he had taken from her before, he had taken once again. She carefully unfolded the note, reading the message scrawled across the inside.

 _A keepsake.  
After all, you shan’t be needing it anymore._

A fitting parting gift from a sky pirate to a queen who no longer wanted him, she supposed. She glanced at the ring on her hand, neatly folded the paper again, and put it back in its place, a keepsake of her own.

A short while later, fully dressed but not yet ready to begin the affairs of the day, she found herself standing on her balcony, idly watching the scenery. Off in the distance, amidst the clouds, she imagined she saw an airship flying away.


End file.
